Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Iraqi Police Station Defense at Revolutionary Circle
This action was part of the Battle of Najaf, an episode in which Marines and their Iraqi partners defended a police station against the Mahdi Army militia during the August 2004 uprising.
As Muqtada al-Sadr's fighters moved to seize control of Najaf and overwhelm the symbols of government authority, the police station became a contested strongpoint that had to be held against the militia's assaults. The Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fighting to suppress the uprising, helped defend or relieve the position as part of the broader struggle for control of the city. The action illustrated the pattern of the Najaf fighting, in which the militia attacked the seats of government control and the Marines and Iraqi forces battled to retain them. Defending the police station was one of the building-block engagements of the larger battle to break al-Sadr's hold on the holy city.
Record no. 759